Home Office

Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (1 September 2020 to 30 November 2020)

Baroness Williams of Trafford: My rt hon Friend the Minister of State for Security (James Brokenshire) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:Section 19(1) of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011 (the Act) requires the Secretary of State to report to Parliament as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of every relevant three-month period on the exercise of her TPIM powers under the Act during that period. The level of information provided will always be subject to slight variations based on operational advice. TPIM notices in force (as of 30 November 2020)3Number of new TPIM notices served (during this period)0TPIM notices in respect of British citizens (as of 30 November 2020)3TPIM notices extended (during the reporting period)1TPIM notices revoked (during the reporting period)1TPIM notices revived (during the reporting period)0Variations made to measures specified in TPIM notices (during the reporting period)3Applications to vary measures specified in TPIM notices refused (during the reporting period)0The number of subjects relocated under TPIM legislation (during this the reporting period)3  Two individuals have been charged with breaching their TPIM notices in this period. The TPIM Review Group (TRG) keeps every TPIM notice under regular and formal review. Fourth quarter TRG meetings were held on 14 and 15 December 2020.

Department for Transport

Transport Update

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: My Honourable Friend, the Minister of State for Transport (Andrew Stephenson), has made the following Ministerial Statement:I have been asked by my Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State, to make this Written Ministerial Statement. This Statement concerns the application made under the Planning Act 2008 for the proposed alteration and upgrading by Highways England of the existing M25 Junction 10 Roundabout. Under section 107(1) of the Planning Act 2008, the Secretary of State must make his decision within 3 months of receipt of the Examining Authority’s report unless exercising the power under section 107(3) to extend the deadline and make a Statement to the House of Parliament announcing the new deadline. The Secretary of State received the Examining Authority’s report on the M25 Junction 10/A3 Wisley Interchange Development Consent Order application on 12 October 2020 and the original deadline for a decision was 12 January 2021. The deadline for the decision is to be extended to 12 May 2021 (an extension of 4 months) to enable the Secretary of State to consult further on the application including on the question of appropriate provision of Replacement Land to compensate for the proposed Special Category Land to be compulsorily purchased under the Development Consent Order. The decision to set a new deadline is without prejudice to the decision on whether to grant development consent.

International Travel Update

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: My Honourable Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport (Robert Courts MP), has made the following Ministerial Statement:Last week the Prime Minister announced that the Government had made the difficult but necessary decision to introduce a new national lockdown.Both globally and domestically we are seeing significant increases in levels of coronavirus, including the emergence of worrying new strains. It is therefore imperative that we ensure we are doing all we can to protect travel, reduce the risk of imported infections, including from new variants, and protect our NHS while national lockdown and vaccinations take effect.We already have strong safeguards in place, including a requirement for mandatory 10-day self-isolation for the vast majority of arrivals and our Travel Corridors system remains critical in managing the risk of imported cases from high-risk countries. We also successfully launched the test to release scheme last month which provides passengers with the option to reduce self-isolation, through isolating for five days after they have left a destination not on the Travel Corridors list and then taking a test. Pre-departure testing does not remove the public health need for international arrivals travelling from non-exempt countries to isolate for 10 days or opt into test to release.However, as a result of increasing instances of COVID-19 around the world, including the emergence of new variants, we are now taking additional steps to add a further layer of protection to safeguard public health.From 04:00am on 15 January we will be introducing pre-departure testing requirements for all inbound passengers to England. Passengers arriving by ship, plane or train will have to take a test up to 3 days before departure and provide evidence of a negative result before they travel.This will be an additional requirement that applies to all passengers, including those travelling from a Travel Corridor country, other than those on a very short list of exemptions. This extra layer of protection is in addition to existing self-isolation requirements.We will establish the standards that tests must meet in regulations. This will include that the test must be of a diagnostic-standard test such as a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, and could in some cases include LAMP and Lateral Flow tests within set limits. We will provide clear guidance and advice to passengers regarding testing standards and capacity. Guidance will be available to passengers and carriers on what to look for to assure tests and the results provided meet the standards required.We will keep test standards and innovative testing technologies under review.In addition, we will also set out the information passengers will need to have with them at check-in and the UK border to show they have had a qualifying negative test. This will include set data fields which test result certificates must include. All information on test requirements will be made available to passengers and transport operators through guidance on gov.uk.The current advice for those across the UK remains that you must stay at home and not travel abroad unless it is for a permitted exempt reason. The requirements apply equally to visitors from other states and British Nationals, and carriers may deny boarding if passengers are not in receipt of a qualifying negative test. British Nationals that need consular assistance should contact the nearest consulate, embassy or high commission. If British Nationals test positive for Covid -19 while abroad they should not travel and should follow the local relevant guidance on self-isolation. Transport operators will be required to check that a passenger has proof of a negative test result before they board their flight, train or ferry, and may deny boarding where appropriate to reduce numbers of non-compliant individuals arriving in England. Border Force will also conduct further checks upon arrival. If a passenger arrives in England without a pre-departure negative test result they will be fined. We will amend the International Travel Regulations so that fines, starting at £500, can be levied on non-compliant passengers. Operators will also be fined for transporting non-compliant passengers. Passengers travelling to England from the Common Travel Area (the United Kingdom, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey), will not be in scope of the regulations.Children under the age of 11 will also not be required to complete pre-departure testing.There will be a very restricted number of exemptions, including hauliers to allow the free flow of freight, and air, international rail and maritime crew.Certain limited reasonable excuses for not undergoing testing will also be permitted, for example, lack of testing infrastructure in the departure country. This will apply to three overseas territories - St Helena, Ascension Island and the Falklands.Arrivals from three additional countries will be considered to have a reasonable excuse not to comply due to lack of testing infrastructure. However, for these countries this will only apply for a specific, time limited window. This includes:Antigua and Barbuda – until Thursday 21 January 04.00St Lucia – until Thursday 21 January 04.00Barbados – until Thursday 21 January 04.00If passengers are arriving from one of the above three countries after the time limited window has ended, they will be required to meet all pre-departure testing requirements.Further details on exemptions and reasonable excuses will be set out in regulations and in guidance. We will keep exemptions and reasonable excuses under regular review. We will be making detailed guidance available to both passengers and transport operators to support the implementation of these changes.Measures are likely to be in place until the end of the current lockdown, although a review will take place before the end of that period. The Government recognises the continued challenges that the pandemic poses, both for individuals and for businesses. We have worked closely with the international travel sector during the course of the pandemic and will continue to do so as we emerge from lockdown and are able to encourage people to travel again with confidence. We are also continuing to implement recommendations set out in the Global Travel Taskforce Report to support the safe recovery of international travel. The delivery of a safe, effective vaccine is also the best way to protect the most vulnerable, save thousands of lives and support the removal of many of the restrictions and return to international travel. We are already making great progress, including having currently vaccinated more people than the rest of Europe combined.In the immediate term our priority has to be on safeguarding public health and the NHS. With the addition of pre-departure testing requirements, our already robust system to protect against imported cases of coronavirus is further strengthened and will provide the greatest overall protection against the risk of transmission during travel to England and after arrival.

Ministry of Defence

Supply at No Cost of Lightly Armoured Patrol Vehicles to the Lebanese Armed Forces

Baroness Goldie: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. The UK intends to supply a fleet of vehicles at no cost to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), in recognition of our strong relationship in tackling the shared terrorist threat. At present the LAF do not have the capability to fully patrol Lebanon’s border with Syria and have requested the UK’s assistance in providing suitable equipment to fulfill this requirement. The UK has agreed to supply 100 surplus Army Revised Weapon Mounted Installation Kit Plus (RWMIK+) vehicles in response to a request from the Lebanese Commander in Chief. The supply of these vehicles will greatly enhance the LAF’s capacity to mount long distance patrols across rugged mountainous terrain and allow their Land Border Regiments (LBRs) to more effectively counter the threat of armed smugglers and extremists trying to enter Lebanon. The 100 Revised Weapon Mounted Installation Kit Plus (RWMIK+) vehicles, valuing £1,502,000, are surplus to the needs of the British Army. The logistical costs of collating and then transporting the vehicles to Lebanon will be borne by the Conflict Stability and Security Fund, and training in the operation of the vehicles will be borne by the Defence Acquisition Fund (South). Delivery of the RWMIK+ to Beirut is expected to commence in January 2021.

Equipment Plan

Baroness Goldie: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. I wish to inform Parliament that the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Defence has written to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee with our 2020 update on the affordability of the Defence Equipment Plan, covering the period 2020/21-2029/30. His letter and the supplementary tables have been placed in the Library of the House and published online. This more concise update takes the place of the usual Equipment Plan financial summary report and maintains continuity of financial reporting ahead of implementing the outcomes of the Spending Review and Integrated Review. I welcome the continued engagement of the National Audit Office (NAO) who have today published their independent assessment of our plans. Last month, the Prime Minister announced a once in a generation modernisation of the Armed Forces including £16.5 billion additional spending on Defence over the next four years. I am determined that we seize this opportunity to modernise the Armed Forces to meet today’s threat whilst taking hard decisions to put defence on a sustainable footing. To do so will require a transparent approach to taking these decisions, inviting robust scrutiny of our plans and recognising where we could be doing more to deliver better value for our spending. In this context, today’s update on the affordability of our plans as they were in April 2020,are a reminder of the challenge ahead and the need for decisive action now to ensure that we match our ambition and resources. Over the year to April 2020, our central estimate of the shortfall in funding for equipment spending increased from £3 billion to £7 billion over 10-years, with potential for this to be greater if risks materialise and we take no action to intervene. This increase was largely the result of three sources of increased costs: Deferral of spending on some projects to save money in the short-term while allowing decisions about their future to be taken in the context of the Integrated Review; There were more limited opportunities to reduce the cost of established projects than in previous years and projects were more confident in delivering milestones and achieving their spending forecasts; and Risks materialising including less favourable foreign exchange rate forecasts and additional non-discretionary spending in high-priority areas including the nuclear enterprise that we were not able to fully offset through savings. The settlement we have received in the recent Spending Review means we are now in a position to tackle the root causes of these issues. We are already using the findings of the NAO’s assessment of the Equipment Plan alongside our work on these issues to improve our approach to implementing the outcomes of the Spending Review and ensure that our plans are affordable and deliverable. I am pleased to see that the NAO has recognised the progress we are making in some areas, including management of efficiencies. Our ambitious transformation programme will build on this progress. I expect our 2021 edition of the Equipment Plan financial summary to present the implications of the Spending Review and Integrated review for equipment spending and on progress in improving the management of our plans.EQUIPMENT PLAN 2020-2030: UPDATE ON AFFORDABILITY (pdf, 147.1KB)Equipment Plan 2020 supplementary data tables (xlsx, 111.4KB)

Northern Ireland Office

The Second Report on the Use of the Petition of Concern Mechanism in the Northern Ireland Assembly

Viscount Younger of Leckie: My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Brandon Lewis) has today made the following statement: I am today laying before both Houses of Parliament the second report by the UK Government on the use of the Petition of Concern mechanism in the Northern Ireland Assembly.As part of the New Decade, New Approach deal upon which devolved government was restored in Northern Ireland on 11 January 2020, the UK Government committed to undertaking such a report every six months.This report covers the period from 10 July 2020 to 11 January 2021, during which no Petition of Concern has been lodged against any motion in the Assembly.The next UK Government report on the use of the Petition of Concern will cover the period from 11 January 2021 to 10 July 2021.The report notes that full implementation of the Petition of Concern reforms in New Decade, New Approach will require Westminster legislation. The Government will bring forward such legislation when parliamentary time allows, after which the Assembly will be able to reflect the detail of the reforms in its standing orders.

Treasury

Public Service Pension Scheme Indexation and Revaluation 2021

Lord Agnew of Oulton: My right honourable friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Steve Barclay) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.Public service pensions continue to be among the very best available.Legislation governing public service pensions requires them to be increased annually by the same percentage as additional pensions (State Earnings Related Pension and State Second Pension). Public service pensions will therefore be increased from 12 April 2021 by 0.5 per cent, in line with the annual increase in the Consumer Prices Index up to September 2020, except for those public service pensions which have been in payment for less than a year, which will receive a pro-rata increase. This will ensure that public service pensions take account of increases in the cost of living and their purchasing power is maintained.Separately, in the career average public service pension schemes introduced in 2014 and 2015, pensions in accrual are revalued annually in relation to either prices or earnings depending on the terms specified in their scheme regulations. The Public Service Pensions Act 2013 requires HMT to specify a measure of prices and of earnings to be used for revaluation by these schemes.The prices measure is the Consumer Prices Index up to September 2020. Public service schemes which rely on a measure of prices, therefore, will use the figure of 0.5 per cent for the prices element of revaluation.The earnings measure is the Whole Economy year on year change in Average Weekly Earnings (non-seasonally adjusted and including bonuses and arrears) up to September 2020. Public service schemes which rely on a measure of earnings, therefore, will use the figure of 2.4 per cent for the earnings element of revaluation.Revaluation is one part of the amount of pension that members earn in a year and needs to be considered in conjunction with the amount of in-year accrual. Typically, schemes with lower revaluation will have faster accrual and therefore members will earn more pension per year. The following list shows how the main public service schemes will be affected by revaluation:   SchemePoliceFireCivil ServiceNHSTeachersLGPSArmed ForcesJudicialRevaluation for active member1.75%2.4%0.5%2%2.1%0.5%2.4%0.5%